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Nostalgia is one hell of a feeling. When you’re at the top of your game, sometimes it’s necessary to look back at the old, hungry-for-success you to see if the grand proclamations you had for your life came true.

For Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Kendrick Lamar, Drake and J.Cole — members of the 2013 rap elite — all the ambitious visions became reality. Recently, an unreleased 2002 interview with Kanye shows that the producer-rapper-creative genius knew he was destined for hip-hop royalty.

We’ve rounded up throwback interviews with these top-tier rappers to show just how clairvoyant they were about their music futures.